On the morning of Aug. 11, 269 days and 80 regular season games ago, the Detroit Tigers were dead in the water.
Their record to date was 55–63, putting them 13 ½ games out of first place in the AL Central and 10 games out of the third wild-card spot. They had lost nine of their last 12 and were 8–13 since the All-Star break. FanGraphs gave them a 0.2% chance to make the playoffs and end what was, at the time, a 10-year postseason drought—tied with the Los Angeles Angels for MLB’s longest active streak.
